It’s goodbye from him: BBC erases DLT from TOTP

The BBC has confirmed it will mothball editions of Top Of The Pops featuring disgraced presenter Dave Lee Travis.

The corporation had pulled episodes of the show which he hosted from its schedule of weekly BBC4 repeats following his arrest nearly two years ago and future programmes in which he features will now be dropped following his conviction for indecent assault.

The latest decision comes despite the BBC agreeing to include appearances by convicted child sex offender Jonathan King - who was given a seven-year sentence for his crimes against under age boys - in editions of the show.

King, who was put on the sex offenders register following his release from prison in 2005, was also recently interviewed for a documentary about the rock band Genesis.

The scheduling of Top Of The Pops repeats has been badly affected by claims against presenters and some of the participants. A number of shows were pulled as a result of the abuse scandal which emerged following the death of Jimmy Savile, and then Travis was subject to a number of claims which resulted in two criminals trials.

Appearances by Gary Glitter, who has also been convicted of sex offences, have been removed from editions of the show and a performance by King was initially cut from a programme. However King complained that it amounted to a ‘’Stalinist revision of history’’ and received a letter from then director-general Mark Thompson apologising and assuring him that he would not be cut if the programme were to be screened again.

Travis was given a three-month sentence last month, suspended for two years.

A BBC spokeswoman said: “The BBC will not show Top Of The Pops repeats fronted by Dave Lee Travis. We will consider any other archive appearances on a case by case basis.”

Asked why King and Travis’s appearances were being treated differently, she said their decisions were “made on a case by case basis”.

King featured in the BBC2 documentary Genesis Together And Apart and he appeared briefly to talk about how he produced their first album after discovering them when visiting pupils at Charterhouse, the school which he had also attended.

Conservative MP Rob Wilson criticised his inclusion in the programme, adding: “After everything that has happened, you would have thought the BBC would steer clear of convicted paedophiles.”

His appearance has led to 20 complaints to the BBC from viewers and broadcasting regulator Ofcom received three complaints which it is currently assessing.

Explaining his inclusion the BBC said: “As Jonathan King played a significant role in discovering Genesis during their early years he appears briefly in the documentary.”